Industrial Drive was closed to traffic and operations at Saputo reportedly halted Thursday afternoon due to the presence of natural gas in the area. The contractor boring under I-30 to connecting the final piece of the Saputo sewer main project reportedly hit the gas main, according to the city manager.
First, the far right westbound lane of Industrial Drive was closed where crews had dug in the soil and the presence of a gas odor was detected. Around 3 p.m. Nov. 4, 2021, the odor had intensified and police soon arrived to completely shutting down Industrial Drive just east of the Bill Bradford Road exit off I-30 west, routing traffic north onto Commercial Service Drive to Como Street. Industrial Drive continued to be shut down from there to the Bill Bradford Road underpass. Additional emergency truck had cordoned off with yellow tape a section of the Saputo parking lot closest to Industrial Drive as Atmos, firefighters, city and company employees worked to try to stem the natural gas flow and repair the problem.
At 3:40 p.m., the city manager confirmed the contractor hit a gas main. Saputo operations, he was told and reported, were shut down. That area of Industrial Drive continued to be closed at 4 p.m. Thursday. Workers from Saputo were seen exiting a few at a time. A few had walked across the street to the old VF Outlet parking lot to wait.
Those traveling in the area should plan an alternate route of travel until the road can be reopened.
